The Omega Advisers chief executive, with a net worth of more than $3 billion, made the dramatic prediction"I believe that what we're going through has very lasting implications for the long term," he said. "No. 1: Capitalism as we know it will likely be changed forever."
Specifically, Cooperman, who has previously called the market rout "healthy" despite losing "a ton of money," warned of tighter regulation and higher taxes as the economy recovers from record job losses and a plunge in equity values. "When the government is called upon to protect you on the downside," he said of the trillions of dollars in government aid that has already been dolled out by US lawmakers, "they have every right to regulate the upside. So capitalism is changed.
"Consistently low interest rates are indicative of a troubled economy and should not be viewed positively," he said.